In one of the nation’s largest demonstrations in months, protesters filled the city of Rabat.
Tens of thousands of Moroccans took him to the city, protesting Israel’s attacks on Gaza and its people, directing anger towards the United States and support for the 18-month war.
At one of the nation’s largest demonstrations, protesters buried the area of Rabat on Sunday, trampling on Israeli flags, raising the flag of the assassinated Hamas leader, and waved a poster combining President Donald Trump with evacuated Palestinians.
Organizers denounced Israel’s military campaign that killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, and once again expelled hundreds of thousands of people after shattering a ceasefire with intensive air and ground attacks last month.
Since the start of the war, more than 50,700 Palestinians have been killed and more than 115,300 have been injured.
The Moroccan protests reflect similar demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa, where pro-Palestinian rallies took place in Tunisia’s Yemeni province and Casablanca, the economic centre of Morocco.
The outrage with Washington has come to the forefront, particularly over Trump’s proposal to force Palestinians to redevelop Gaza. Arab countries have denounced the plan, and rights groups have called it ethnic cleansing. Protesters also condemned our crackdown on Palestinian parents’ activities on university campuses.
“Gaza has been wiped out from the map.”
Many Moroccans see Trump’s stance as a continuation of policy under his predecessor, former US President Joe Biden.
“[Trump] Speaking to the Associated Press, Mohammed Toushi, who traveled from Casablanca with his family to participate in the protest, said.
“Biden hid some things, but Trump showed it all,” he added, arguing that their policy tone was different but not substantive.
Abdelhaq el-Arabi, the adviser to the former conservative prime minister of Morocco, said that public rage only grew when the war was dragged over.
“It’s not war. Gaza is being wiped out of the map,” a 62-year-old Tamesna resident told the Associated Press.
A broad coalition of groups joined the protest. Moroccan authorities have tolerated most demonstrations, but have arrested activists accused of targeting foreign embassies and linking criticism to a monarchy.
Many protesters are angry at Morocco’s 2020 decision to normalize relations with Israel.
Morocco has signed the Abraham Agreement, the first foreign policy push from the Trump administration, where the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Sudan have normalized relations with Israel in return for various diplomatic and financial agreements.
Nevertheless, like many Arab countries, public sentiment towards Israel is rarely reconciled in Morocco.
Source link
